Chipotle Mexican Grill is bringing its mission to cultivate a better world to life through a Rose Parade float made with its real ingredients on New Year’s Day. The float, featuring a giant red tractor symbolizing the work of local farms, will be ridden by growers and suppliers of ingredients for Chipotle restaurants. Joining the farmers will be the Grammy winning rock band, Portugal. The Man, performing hits like “Feel It Still” and “Live In The Moment.”
The ‘Cultivate a Better World’ float is Chipotle’s first-ever entrant in the Rose Parade, and will be built using the real ingredients served in Chipotle restaurants including approximately 200 pounds of chili flakes to cover the tractor; ground onion seeds for the tires; cumin, cloves, oregano and bay leaves covering the cart; ground white rice for lettering and 100 pounds of lemons hanging in the trees. Other ingredients on display for the 5.5-mile route include corn, onions, rice, garlic, thyme, chipotle chilies, poblanos, jalapenos, bell peppers, tomatoes, tomatillos, red onions, yellow onions, avocados, cilantro, limes and romaine lettuce. The ingredients used to build the float will be composted and donated to local farms in the area.
“Both our farming partners and our employees make it possible for Chipotle to serve millions of customers daily with real food made from real ingredients,” says Chris Brandt, chief marketing officer at Chipotle. “We want to celebrate those who work hard every day to help us cultivate a better world, and the iconic Rose Parade is a great way to showcase Chipotle’s commitment to great tasting food that you can feel good about eating.”
The theme of this year’s Rose Parade is “The Melody of Life,” so Chipotle turned to Portugal. The Man to help bring the theme to life for spectators and home viewers. A friend of Chipotle, Portugal. The Man previously headlined two of Chipotle’s Cultivate festivals and contributed a song to Chipotle’s Rad Lands children’s video, which educated viewers on ingredients, food choices and food origins.
“We have a lot of admiration for Chipotle because they prove that you can make a good, tasty burrito and the world a better place, all in a day’s work,” adds Portugal. The Man.
The Rose Parade begins at 8 AM PST on January 1, 2019, in Pasadena, California. For millions of people around the world, the Rose Parade is an iconic New Year’s Day tradition. The Rose Parade features four types of entries: floral-decorated floats entered by a participating corporation, non-profit organization or municipality, equestrian units, bands, and Tournament Entries.